Review by Booklist Review
The creator of Leo Geo returns to the depths of earth's crust in this installment in the Science Comics series. Set in a near-future ice age, Aurora and her siblings scavenge for burnable fuel in abandoned, ice-bound houses all over Southern California. When they stumble upon a library, they're grateful for the windfall, and before bringing the books back to camp to burn for warmth, they settle in to scan them no sense in losing valuable information, after all. One book about volcanoes catches Aurora's eye, and she becomes obsessed with harnessing the natural heat of the earth's core to warm their compound, constantly spouting facts about volcanoes, tectonic plates, and thermodynamics to her companions. While occasionally the informative passages seem shoehorned into the fictional narrative, they're nevertheless packed with detail. Chad's well-drawn and clearly labeled diagrams in rich, saturated colors concisely explain key concepts, and vocabulary words are defined both in the text and a glossary. While the stylized cartoon figures and adventure narrative are an entertaining framework, the science fittingly occupies the center stage.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-7-Aurora, her siblings, and their teacher are fuel mappers, charged with the task of finding burnable material to provide heat for their community in a futuristic world where everything is frozen. On one expedition, they happen upon a library, and they scan all of the books onto their devices in order to preserve the information after the volumes have been burned. Aurora discovers a title about volcanoes, and she spends all night reading and learning everything she can about them. Becoming completely obsessed, she shares a constant stream of facts with her skeptical fellow explorers, interrupting their search for fuel. Aurora is certain that volcanoes are the answer to the world's need for warmth, and despite discouraging comments from the others, she ultimately meets with success. Interwoven into the tale are factual pieces of this graphic novel, presented at a frenetic pace that matches the urgency of the characters' need to find a way to survive. The artwork is bold and engaging, cleverly intertwining the science and the more fantastical elements of the narrative. Some portions of the text have the potential to be confusing, as Chad switches between fact and fiction, but this should not deter readers. VERDICT This latest volume in the series offers an engaging way to introduce volcanoes to middle graders who prefer a comic book format to more traditional nonfiction.-Sarah Reid, Four County Library System, NY © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Color by Sophie Goldstein. In this graphic novel set during a future ice age, a child stumbles upon a book about volcanoes and uses her new knowledge to bring Earth's heat to her people. Although there are some holes in the frame story's logic, the science is impressive, as are the contrasting illustrations of a frozen, abandoned California and the dynamic volcanic processes of its past. Reading list. Glos. (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
